A New Jersey man has been sentenced to prison for theft involving an elaborate scheme to steal more than $1 million from his former employer, a car dealership in Toms River.
Martin D’Amato, 40, of Beachwood, was sentenced to seven years in state prison on Friday, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. He pleaded guilty to a single count of theft earlier this year.
The dealership contacted law enforcement in October 2021, alleging that D’Amato had stolen from them by running a fictitious billing scheme, authorities said.
The dealership told authorities that D’Amato, who was in charge digital marketing, had created multiple shell companies, which billed the dealership for marketing and advertising services that were never performed.
D’Amato then charged the fees on the dealership’s corporate credit card, officials said. In addition, he utilized an online payment processing service for all of the shell companies in an effort to hide that they were in his control, prosecutors said.
Following an investigation by financial crimes detectives, D’Amato was arrested and charged in September 2022. Authorities have not disclosed the name of the dealership.
As part of his sentence, he will have to pay $1,329,677 in restitution, the total amount that the dealership lost from the scheme, prosecutors said.
Nicolas Fernandes
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